The Patient
by Princess Turk
Summary: Reno/Cloud. Reno rescues Cloud from the Shinra lab after finding him hiding outside a bar in Midgar. AU/non-canon, full warnings and info inside.
1. Tedious

**Reno/Cloud, AU/non-canon, flashbacks. Warnings for smoking, drinking, character death(s), and RENO. Later warnings for violence and lemony goodness. Don't own, just for fun!**

PROLOGUE

* * *

Time.

_How long_?

Reno checked the phone in his pocket again, grimacing at the screen.

_How fucking long_?

He lit a cigarette. Rolled it around between his finger and thumb. Shoved it into his mouth. Crushed the butt between clenched teeth as he hissed, "Come on."

"Just wait. He'll be here."

Reno startled at the sound of Rude's voice. His stoic partner shifted easily from one foot to the other. Reno knew that shift: it was one of unease, uncertainty.

The air around them had the acrid stench of smoke, death, piss and shit. Reno sniffed as he angrily swiped a bead of sweat that dripped down his temple. He took a long drag off of his cigarette and blew the smoke out in a loud huff.

"I don't like this, man. It's taking too fuckin' long. He should have been done by now. We oughta be in there with him, goddamn it!"

"And what would you prefer us to do? Abandon our post and storm in there? Put us all at risk?" Rude asked sternly, peering at Reno with furrowed brows behind his dark glasses. Of _course_ that's what Reno wanted! Dynamite Red, always showing up unannounced and like a hyperactive child, seldom thinking things through.

"Fuck it, Rude!" Reno hissed at him. "It's Cloud in there! You know what that fuckin' means, man!"

Rude shook his head and looked away, pretending to study the cracks in the wall they stood beside. "We were told by Cloud himself to stay put and keep watch. I intend to fulfill that duty."

"Fuck duty, Rude."

Reno took an angry drag from his cigarette and tossed it to the ground, stamping it out with more force that he should have. He shoved his hand into his pocket and returned with his Shinra-issued pistol.

"Reno, don't!" Rude shouted, stepping in front of the redheaded Turk. He was shoved aside easily. As he heard Reno's footsteps crunching the gravel on the road, he sighed heavily. "I'm _begging_ you, Reno. Don't do this," he said softly. "If Cloud had run into trouble, you'd be the first one to hear from him. No news is good news."

Reno spun on his heel and faced Rude one last time.

Rude had taken off his glasses. Their eyes met.

"I... I can't lose you too, Reno. Everyone's gone. I don't need you to leave me as well."

Reno bowed his head and slowly turned.

"It's been an honor being your partner, Rude."

"..." Rude wept silently, his eyes closed, as the sound of Reno's footsteps slowly faded off into the distance. The absence of sound enveloped him.

* * *

Five minutes later, a blast nearly knocked him off of his feet. _For the gods' sakes, what the fuck was that_?

"Rude!"

_Reno_! Rude's heart leapt into his throat.

"RENO!"

The fiery-red mane of his partner could be seen in the distance, headed for him at top speed. Rude broke into a run. When they met each other, they both stopped to catch their breath. Reno collapsed onto the road in a fit. He screamed; oh _gods_, did he scream. The sound came from the pit of his soul, and Rude's heart broke for him. He watched as Reno clawed his fingers into the gravel in a fit of rage and disbelief, appearing to scream at the road beneath him.

Tears clouded Reno's eyes. He could not stop screaming, could not stop the agony of knowing Cloud surely had been killed. His hands bloodied from the gravel scraping his flesh, he brought them to his face and clenched his head.

"Oh my gods! Oh my gods!"

Reno fell forward onto the road, still screaming. He clutched his head and curled into the fetal position.

"He can't leave like this. He can't leave like this. _HE CANNOT FUCKING LEAVE_!"

A good dose of Shinra sedatives quickly administered by Rude, and Reno was out like a light.

* * *

He woke up to pain and confusion. Blood on the white sheets. Blood in his mouth.

"Hey baby, how are you?"

Reno wanted to shoot out of the bed, but he was physically unable to. He knew that voice.

"C-Cloud...?"

"Who else would it be?"

"You're... dead."

"I know."

Reno shut his eyes tightly. This is not real. This is _NOT_ real. Silence.

He turned his head slowly to face the direction of Cloud's voice.

Empty chair. Empty room. He let his tears fall without restraint.

"Come on, Reno. Don't be like this. I'm alright."

"No you're not. You're dead."

"I'm as alive as you are, Red. You just don't know it yet, but we're the same. We always have been."


	2. Startling

_**Five years prior.**_

* * *

"You're all a bunch of morons! I can drink any of you assholes under the table!"

The bar was rowdy tonight, more often than usual, and Reno felt like the king of the Turks' usual table. He glanced around, his head swiveling drunkenly from left to right, taking in the sights of Shinra's top-ranked Turks and various SOLDIERS, cadets, and Shinra employees sprinkled throughout the bar. Elena was giving Kunsel a lapdance. Zack Fair was hitting on everything with legs, including the tables and chairs. Tseng was passed out into the pretzel bowl, his hand still gripping a bottle of sake. Faithful Rude sat smirking at him from across the table. Reno lifted his shot glass to Rude, who lifted his own in return. They took their respective shots and poured another.

"You wanna bet?" Rude quipped. "Hmph!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know YOU can hold your liquor, but these idiots..." he waved his hand, motioning to their co-workers. "They have the guts of field mice!"

Rude hummed in reply, shifting in his chair to watch Elena, a mix of disgust and pain on his face. Reno shook his head and rolled his eyes, stood up and straightened his jacket.

"Gotta take a piss, yo. And i'll be takin' this, so ya don't get your hands on it," he said as he tilted his head at Rude, grabbing the bottle of liquor. He made his way outside. He could hear Tseng's voice in his head: "_Fucking Reno, too classy to use the bathroom stalls, as per usual..._"

Reno laughed to himself and headed to the side of the building. He took a long swig from the bottle of liquor and proceeded to whip his cock out, pissing down a painted logo that screamed, '_Best Damn Saki This Side of Midgar! President Shinra Approved_!' A painting of President Shinra's fat face was painted to the side. Reno took aim at the President, the effigy grinning back at him like he'd eaten a plate of gold-dipped dog shit.

"Fucking Shinra."

When he finished, he zipped up and stood back, admiring his work glistening in the light of the street lamp.

"Nnnghhh..."

Reno tilted his head and listened to the moaning in the distance. Fucking? Puking? Someone jerking off? He heard it again, cocked his head further.

"Yo, who's there?"

The noise ceased; all was quiet. "C-Cloud Strife, sir," a voice finally called out quietly. Reno heard quiet footsteps coming from further down the side of the building. The street lamp didn't quiet illuminate that area, and Reno stood stiffly - one hand still grasping his liquor bottle, one hand on his pocket in case he needed his pistol. A blond head appeared, spikes sticking straight to the sky on the pale, thin body of a cadet that seemed to have had too much to drink. His head bowed in apology.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Get out of here with that 'sir' bullshit, cadet. I'm a no one," Reno sneered to himself, drinking from his bottle. "I'm a Turk, yo. Might be a higher rank than a cadet, but in my eyes, i'm just a human meat shield for a scumbag of a president. Though, I can hack a computer.. and rewire a bomb... and have you ever seen what happens to a microwave with a Mako-infused milkshake shoved into it? _KA-BOOOOOM_, OH FUCK!" Reno bent over, roaring with laughter, lost in his own memories of his early days in Turk training.

"Ha.." Cloud laughed softly, nervously. He scratched the back of his head. "I'd like to see that sometime. S-sounds pretty cool."

Reno straightened up and faced Cloud. He raised an eyebrow. "I can show you sometime. 'Cept now, I get bigger bombs, which means more fire, more BOOM. Hell yeah!"

Cloud nodded and looked at his feet.

"What's-a matter? You shy or somethin'?"

Cloud shrugged. Reno approached him and stood in front of the cadet, sizing him up completely. Something wasn't right here. Something smelled... off. He'd thought the blond was drunk, but the seasoned Turk smelled no sign of alcohol. What he smelled was the sickly sweet scent of freshly-turned earth mixed with death and a slight scent of rain.

_Mako_.

"Cloud, who's your superior? Zack Fair?"

The blond nodded in response, then stopped. "He... He used to be," Cloud replied.

"...And now?"

He saw Cloud tense up, saw a spark of fear flash across his eyes.

Then he was running.

"Mother_fucker_!" Reno shouted to himself. He took off into a sprint, ditching the bottle of liquor in un-Reno-like fashion. He knew something wasn't right with the cadet. He could smell the Mako wafting off of Cloud's clothes - no, his skin - and he fucking reeked of despair and depravity.

When he finally caught up to Cloud, he tackled him to the ground. They flopped around in a desperate attempt to outwit each other, then stopped suddenly. Both of them out of breath, they lay beside each other and simply stared at the roof of the plate above them.

Silence.

"Back where i'm from, you could actually see the stars at night."

Reno, startled, turned his head to look at Cloud. "Yeah? Where ya from?"

"Nibelheim."

"I went there once for training," Reno mused. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, stuck a cigarette in his mouth, and closed his eyes. He felt the cold metal of his lighter in his hand, heard the echoing clink of the Zippo's lid. The familiar _scritch-scritch_ of the flint as he lit his cigarette. Opening his eyes, he watched the smoke being exhaled from his lips. "I'd never seen stars before Nibelheim."

"I'd never seen a plate sky before Midgar. I feel trapped here, like i'm in a tin can," Cloud said. He turned to his side to face Reno and rested his head on his hand as he propped up. "I want to go home. I only joined the army because I wanted to broaden my horizons. My mom wanted more for me, too. Back home, it's only butchers and sheep herders. Pop out some kids, grow old, die. Born on the mountain, buried on the mountain. But now, i'd give anything to go home."

Reno hummed in reply around his cigarette, then took it out of his mouth and handed it to Cloud. The cadet took it and took a drag from it easily, handed it back, and sighed contentedly. "Cloud, are you in trouble?" Reno asked pointedly. He was known for his bluntness, and Cloud _reeked_ of trouble. He could literally smell it seeping out of his pores and onto the concrete below them.

It was at this point when Cloud tensed up again. He sat up completely and buried his face into his hands. His body shook violently. Reno sat up and reached over to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. Cloud flinched and drew away from him like a dog that was used to being beaten.

Reno threw his hands up. "Hey. _Hey_. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to do you wrong, yo. I just want to know why ya fuckin' _reek_," Reno whispered heatedly. "I'm trained for this shit. I can smell it all over you."

After a few moments, Cloud relaxed and began to tell his story - and it spilled out like the Mako in crevices in a Nibel cave that Reno had once visited.


	3. Test

_**Seven years ago.**_

* * *

Cloud felt smart, quite dapper, as he stood in front of the mirror in his new cadet uniform. _In the Shinra army_! The metallic city of Midgar was a far cry from his home of Nibelheim, but he could get used to it in time. He grinned at himself, then grimaced at his spiky hair. Fucking uncontrollable mess. _Thanks, dad_.

The father he never knew. Born from anger, ripped from the womb and thrust into a single-mother's arms. A photo he once found in the attic, ripped in half; a spike-haired blond man with a stern look on his face. His mom had slapped the pieces from his hand and spit on the floor.

"Your father was a piece of shit."

As he'd grown older, his mom eventually told him bits and pieces of an abusive man that had raped her one last time and left her pregnant and alone. She was grateful for his absence, raising Cloud alone and with love. But Cloud was different, and she noticed this from the time he was born. His birth attracted the top brass from Shinra. How they knew about him, she never could figure it out, but they flocked to him. Gifts appeared in their mailbox: wads of gil, gift cards, wine, clothing. Attached to all gifts was always a card with one thing:

_-H._

It was not the initial of her bastard husband, nor was it anyone else she knew. She once tried to inquire about the initial by calling Shinra Headquarters, but the only thing she gained was the sound of silence followed by a dial tone.

When Cloud ate, he ate. The boy grew into a teenager and so did his appetite. The more she tried to smooth his hair out, the more it spiked up in protest. He was every bit like his father, with the exception that he was quiet and somber, kind to her and kind to animals. His eyes glowed with an otherworldly shine - Mako blue, she'd heard it called once, and she knew there were other variations of the hue: red and green were also heard of. When he stared off into the distance, or at the stars, she often felt like he held the secrets of the universe.

* * *

Cloud listened to the planet quite often, though it was harder to do in Midgar, so far away from nature. He loved the quiet hum of Gaia , the twinkling of the stars and faraway planets. Sometimes he'd get a whiff of the Mako in Midgar and would become entranced in the sweet smell. It smelled all at once like dirt, flesh, and rain to him, but he dearly loved it.

Months had now passed for him in the Shinra army, and he found himself stuck in a ritual of monotony: classes, training, speeches, meetings. He watched everyone growing stronger.

He stayed the same.

This time when he stared into the mirror, he scowled. He ripped his cadet uniform off and threw it to the floor. He grunted in anger and threw himself onto his bed. He grabbed his headphones and put them on, escaping into a world of music, where nothing could go wrong. Cloud sighed. He was tired of tests and routines, disappointments and failures. He drifted off into a restless sleep.

An envelope was slid quietly under his dorm room's door. He saw it when he awakened, snatching it off the floor and ripping it open. A card fluttered out.

_Let's meet. 5'o'clock. The lab._

It was signed with a familiar script.

_-H._

It was 4:55. _Shit_. Cloud threw his cadet uniform back on and rushed down the dorm's hallway to the elevator. He bolted into the elevator and pushed the button labeled 'L'. His stomach rocked and he held back a dry heave as the car lurched to life, taking him down to the basement floor of the building. He was met by a guard at the entrance of the lab, who looked at him sternly.

"What business do you have here?"

Cloud nervously handed the envelope and card to the guard. The man scanned it quickly and raised an eyebrow at him. He grinned.

"Go on in."

Cloud didn't like the tone of the man's voice. It was abrasive and rather gleeful. He pushed open the door to the lab and stepped inside. The door closed automatically behind him. He moved a little further into the room, finding it empty and wondering who this mysterious _H_ was. Where was he?

"H-Hello?" he called out. He could see machines and hear them whirring; the strong scent of Mako hit his nostrils, but this was a pungent and more acrid scent. He smelled fear. He wasn't quite sure how he could smell fear, but he smelled it nonetheless. And pain. The smell of pain was overwhelming.

He heard footsteps shuffling from behind him.

_Lights out_.

* * *

Cloud woke up unable to move. He was bound to a table by thick, black leather straps that cut into his skin. There was even a strap around his neck. His mouth was covered by a strip of medical tape. The room spun; his eyes rolled back into his head and he closed his eyes. Footsteps approached him to his left.

"Ah, so you're finally awake!" the man cackled. Cloud opened his eyes with a start, greeted by a bespectacled man leaning over him. The man had blood splattered on his face, drops of it dribbling down his glasses.

He held up a piece of flesh, dangling it over Cloud's face. Blood dripped from it onto Cloud's face.

Cloud's eyes reacted visibly: his usual Mako-blue hue glowed much more brightly back at the man as he stared up in pure horror.

"My name is Professor Hojo, and i've been waiting for you for a long, long time."

* * *

He waited until feeding time. That was always the time when Hojo left the lab, leaving Cloud alone in his tank of Mako. A breathing tube shoved down his throat; a feeding tube piped into his stomach. During feeding time, the Mako was drained temporarily by a lab assistant so that the tank could be cleaned. A sludge of mystery gunk was piped into the feeding tube directly into his stomach. Thank gods he didn't have to taste it. It was black and moved through the tube like tar.

The lab assistant was just as bad as Hojo for helping him out, knowing that he and one other person were being experimented on and never reporting it to the company. He dutifully did his work, sometimes forgetting to put the restraints back on Cloud as he busied himself with the other person's tank. On this day, he had left Cloud slumped on the floor and unrestrained while he began to work on the other 'patient'.

Cloud had been waiting two years for this. Two fucking years. He'd counted all the days, nearly all the hours. Two years of experiments. Two years of regrowing flesh after it had been carved from his body. _Two fucking years_. He was ready.

He had no idea how he'd done it, but he'd managed to periodically drop himself into a semi-conscious state of stasis and found that upon awakening each time, he was actually able to wiggle his toes inside the tank. After a few months, he was able to almost break one of the straps that restrained him.

It didn't take much to bring the assistant down. A quiet, clean swipe of a surgical blade across the throat from behind. Blood, gurgling. Silence.

Cloud stood, his chest heaving on his nude body. He dropped the blade and raised his hands to look at them, the blood running down his fingers and down his arms. He was in shock briefly, but regained his wits and quickly turned to the tank of the other man. The Mako was almost completely drained. Cloud yanked open the tank and Mako spilled out onto the corpse of the lab assistant at his feet. He quickly undid the restraints and held strong as the naked man slumped onto him. His raven hair was matted onto his face. Cloud lay the man onto the floor and brushed his hair from his face. He gasped.

Patient number one was Vincent Valentine of the Turks, who had gone missing long before Cloud had been captured.

He shook Vincent violently. "Sir! Sir, you have to wake up now!"

Vincent was silent. He didn't move.

Cloud felt his pulse. Vincent was alive, thank gods.

"We have to go, Sir! Mr. Valentine, can you hear me? My name is Cloud Strife. I'm a cadet. We're gonna get out of here, okay?" Cloud hissed. He didn't believe his words for one second, but he knew he had to try to escape. He stood up and began to rummage through cabinets. He found his cadet clothes stuffed into a drawer behind various medical tools and instruments. There were two manila files labeled _Patient One_ and _Patient Two_. He grabbed his clothes and the files, dressed quickly, and stuffed the folders inside the back of his pants. He couldn't find Vincent's clothes, so he grabbed a white lab coat and proceeded to dress the limp man. As he was doing so, Vincent stirred and opened his eyes.

"Cloud, get out of here."

"We're both getting out," Cloud said with determination. He helped Vincent sit up and stared the man into his eyes. Red Mako orbs stared back at him.

"No. I cannot leave, but you can. Go to the bar downtown. Hide yourself well. Wait for him, and then you'll be safe."

Cloud squinted at Vincent. "Wait for who, Sir?"

Vincent's eyes closed again, and the ex-Turk smiled. He said no more as he went back into a deep Mako-poisoned sleep.


End file.
